Chipotle Ale | Rogue Ales

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Reviews by wedgie9:

Tasted from 22oz bottle purchased at Lush West Town. Pours light amber orange with a thin white head that doesn't really leave any lace. The nose is smoky and reminds me more of dried chipotle rather than fresh smoked peppers. There really isn't much else going on, as the smokiness takes over. The palate is a little more exciting, starting off with a hint of sweetness and hops, and then moving to the smoky and spicy chipotle. The body is medium with average carbonation and a long smoky and spicy finish.

More User Reviews:

An offering I thought i wouldnt like to much but came out being really suprised,pours a golden color with a deep orange tint with not much head that seetles pretty quickly.Aroma is of bicuit malt with a touch of briney chilies.Taste is nice and crisp off the bat dry malt is the flavor that dominates with that smokey chili flavor that come mainly in the finish and aftertaste it gets more noticable after a half a glass.My wife picked out the chili taste right away without even knowing it was a chili beer I am proud of her.

Look (3.5/5) pours a lighter orange color. It's cloudy which sets off the color nicely. Off-white head raises with a nice cascade and get up to about three fingers. It falls (a bit fast) to a cap, which really lasts. Nice lacing on the fall.

Smell (3.5/5) the smell is a lot like a Helles or a Maibock (light melanoidins) with more smokiness. There's a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. The smokiness plays well with the fruitiness from the malt.

Flavor (4/5) - the flavor is really smooth and well balanced. The flavor begins with a pretty standard vienna malt flavor which isn't all that interesting. This is, however, followed by a great hit of the chipotle. It is nicely smokey (almost like a rauchbier) with a decent helping of spice. Some decent hop bitterness dries out the finish and plays well with the drawn out heat and smokiness.

Feel (4/5) Medium-light body with some medium carbonation. I like the way the heat lasts and the way that the bubbles really set that off.

12oz longneck bottle with same artwork as the 22oz. This is the first time I've come across this brew in a 12oz bottle. Pours into my tulip glass a nice deep amber / red hue with a strudy half inch of tight bubbly foam. Aromas begin with sweet bready, slightly caramelized malts. The subtle smoky, lightly peppery aroma works its way in followed by some nice citric, herbal hops that add an interesting twist. Works together pretty well here.

First sip brings a smooth, caramely, biscuity maltiness that is quickly met by a smoky pepper infusion. I get a mellow heat sting as it rolls across the palate mixing in with some fruity notes. The herbal, lightly citric hops show up on the way down. A bit on the dry side overall, this one finishes with a pretty nice chipotle kick and a bit of lingering heat. Overall this is a tasty, kinda smoky brew with a nice hot kick that never ends up being too much.

Mouthfeel is crisp and smooth with a burst of carbonation in each sip. Goes down quite easily and I really enjoy the mix of smoky pepper flavor alongside the nice maltiness of this brew. Probably the best chili beer I've sampled yet. Doubt I could have more than a few in a sitting, but this is still a nice change of pace. I'd say to give this one a try!

This was a pretty good-looking beer, cloudy amber with a medium- sized head. Aroma was Ale-like, with some pepper spiciness. I honestly cannot tell whether it was chipotle or some other pepper. Taste was hoppy with some warming spiciness. Fairly thin mouthfeel. I think this is a beer one would try as a curiosity.

It looks oddly caramel. Not that I expected a jalepeno-green from a chipotle beer, but it looks more like what I'd expect from a Tecate or something. The head is different--very small, almost interconnected bubbles a millimeter in depth with lasting power. As the beer sits, so does the head. Though I'm unsure what exactly I expected, it's not it; its appearance, however, has piqued my curiousity.

Oh, I can smell the pepper--dried jalepenos. It has an earthen smokiness as well. It's honestly unlike any beer I've ever smelled. In stark contrast to the look, it smells as it's supposed to smell. Interestingly, I smell basically no malts, no barley, no hops...nothing like that. If I weren't looking right at the beer, I think I'd tell you it was an open bag of dried jalepenos. Perhaps now the beverage has peaked my curiosity.

Wow, it's really smoky. I taste the earthen smokiness I alluded to more than I taste anything peppery. I know chipoltes are dried jalepenos, and I guess these have been dried by smoking. If I smoked cigarettes, I'd have one. I really can't distinguish smoked peppers from smoked wood chips. I think the peppers are distinctive in the smell, but they're missing from the taste. That's a little disappointing, particularly for a chile beer (as it's listed--I presume BA has a "smoked beers" category). Though I bought the beverage to go with Mexican food, I think it could just as easily accompany NC barbecue. It's a neat beer, but I wish there were more pepper to the taste. Spice is absent.

Maybe in the mouthfeel I get more of that for which I'm looking. As I allow the beverage to rest full in my mouth, I detect something of a pepper. It's certainly not spicy like eating jalepenos, but somewhere in between the chemical digestion in my mouth and the aftertaste swallow in my throat I detect the origin of its name. Still, I wish it were easier.

I realize it's a niche beer and it probably lacks favor with the masses, but I wish it brought even more chipolte. I want to taste it! It's a pleasant beer, a fairly easy-drinking one. Still (and here I go again), I wonder what I'd have if DFH did a chipolte ale. I can't help but think I'd taste the pepper in that one! Until then, I think this is a neat beverage worth trying, and I'd pick it up again to complement my comida de mexicana. O mi bbq!

22oz bottle. Pours a clear light copper with a white head that quickly diminishes to a thin film that leaves some lacing.

The aroma is subdued - some sweet malts and smokey peppers and liquid smoke.

The flavor is some sweet malt quickly followed by a lot of smokey chipotle pepper with some light to moderate heat in the background. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation - slightly watery.

Overall, this is one of the best chili beers I've had. It's pretty moderate in heat, but I really like the flavors of the chipotle and smokiness. It's still pretty one-sided in that it's all about the pepper.

Draft at the Barcade in NY during our 3/19/05 crawl!
Was told it was tapped the night before. Deep and amber, clear, with a dusting of faint white head. Cant smell anything really, just slight maltiness, very clean. -(and there was not a bit of smoke in the air). Smooth with a touch of carbonation, but you barely feel it -nice. Deep and malty, burnt toast. Bit of lingering caramelly sweetness. There is just a touch of a tingle to your tongue, but no heat at all. I was hoping to get a bit of it- I knew not to expect a CaveCreek or anything, but still thought I would catch more than there is. And since this was still freshly tapped, I assume this is what the heat is supposed to be at. A lot of flavor is left in your mouth. Decently drinkable with nice flavors, but I was still hoping to get a bit of a punch -or at least a nudge from this one.

Pours a very clear copper/orange (way to go Pacman yeast). Thin, compact head dissipates extremely rapidly to nothing (likely due to chipotle oils in the beer). During sipping, there is no lacing that clings to the glass.

Scents of toffee, faint caramel, slight floral hop presence.

Medium to highly carbonated brew hits the palate and helps to spread the flavors around. Thin, but crisp mouthfeel. I would like a little more malt presence up front to balance the 35 IBUs of cascade and willamette hops. But, I do initially taste some earthy caramel and slight nutty flavor. The chipotle presence quickly exerts itself as the liquid warms. This pepper taste lingers for a long time on the palette after each sip, especially in the back of the mouth.

Although I couldn't drink pint after pint of this interesting ale, I do appreciate the creativity inherent in the recipe. The chipotle flavor is not overpowering and is quite interesting. I will purchase this brew again and have already started thinking about fun food pairings.

Appearance: Richly golden in colour with a thick pasty white lace that retains very well.

Smell: Some fruitiness, malt sweetness and a touch of smoked tangy pepper.

Taste: Very smooth with a mild crispness, rich and medium bodied. A thin layer of malt is first then a mild smoke kicks in as well as a mellow tangy hot pepper that has a faint touch of heat to it, perhaps some of the tangy flavour is from the cascade hops. Soon after is an underlying malt (bready) and a bit of hop flavour ... yet the more you drink the more you feel the heat, though it does not get hot or over bearing. Very clean in the finish with a fading heat.

Notes: Seriously one of the best spiced/herbal ales we have ever had ... some complex yet very well balanced and oh so drinkable all at the same time. A generous addition of smoked chipotle peppers give this brew the heat and smoke.

22oz bottle served chilled. Pours a hazy, burnt orange color, with an offwhite head that fades quickly. Only a few patches of lace were left on the glass. Aroma was very subdued for a Rogue. Sweet caramel dominated the nose, with just a hint of fruitiness and some smoke. Mouthfeel was actively carbonated with some mild hop bite and a slight twang of pepper bite. Taste featured the caramel malt sweetness, with a balance provided by sparing use of the westcoast hops. I could detect a mild, smoky chili flavor of the chipotle peppers, but they're in the background. Very well balanced, overall, and very drinkable. I think this one would be better with a more assertive pepper presence.

Drinkability: Very smooth for a chile beer. The balnce on this one is amazing with the hops, malt, and chiles all blending nicely. One, if not the best in the style that I have had that was not on tap. I will look for this again, but one bomber at a time is good enough.

I don't know if the bottle was bad, or if I just hated the beer, but this one went straight down the drain after just a few sips. The beer poured a reddish color and smelled like chipotles. It also tasted quite a bit like them. Now I really like chipotle peppers, but something with this beer didn't agree with me. The person I was splitting the bomber with finished his glass, something I couldn't do. I have liked everything else from Rogue so I was expecting to like this one. But it just wasn't drinkable. I guess it is an acquired taste.

Single bottle, part of the June LCBO Rogue release. Never had a chili beer, so I really don't know what to expect!

Poured into a nonic. A nice amber brew, slightly murky, a good frothy head that displays nice retention and makes some fine lacing. A good looking brew.

Nose is surprisingly mild. Malt, a bit of cascade hops, and what I assume to be the peppers, but had I not known what the beer's ingredients were beforehand, I would have just called it a 'astringent smokiness'.

Interesting - not in that patronizing sense of "that piece of modern art is...interesting", but that this beer is demanding my interest because there's a lot going on and I'm not sure what to make of it. Starts off slightly malty and with a bit of an IPA feel to it, before the chili peppers rush in. The chipotles give the brew a nice peppery southwest, with hints of smoke and leather, with the sweet malts and west coast hops cleansing the palate. Not a spicy brew; it just possesses a mix of flavors that seem to work fairly well together. As you get used to the taste, the chipotle becomes a little less predominant and it starts to taste a bit like a "southwestern rauchbier", imo.

Assertive carbonation, medium bodied, oily.

Not bad, probably not something I'd have too often, but I agree with a previous reviewer that this might be a great cooking brew. While it mercifully didn't taste like someone dumped pepper juice into a beer tun, the pepper flavor is only mild - I had expected a bit more zing to it. Still, an fine effort.